Production of titanium dioxide



Aug. 10, 1937.

LROCHE G. BOUSQUET ET AL PRODUCTION OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE Filed Feb. 11, 1935 THan/ferous Sulphuric Raw Maferia/ Acid Digesfion Wafer ALTERNATE &

PROCESS Dissolw'ng v Fe for Reducfian C/arificafian C/arificaf/on Moi/1e" Liquor i Neufra/iza Hon 5 3:5, n 4 22757 2: a 55,12

1 sf Filtration Insoluble Alkali Earfh Su/phafe By Producf Iron Removal 2nd Sfep Opera/ive Alkali or Al/(a/i for/l7 Ti/OH) Precipifaf/on Compound /orA/IIMOII/qfUfl/iW/j F i/ frmion Disso/viny Washing of 77/017) i Triva/enf Tl'fanium' 04 Cake Compound (Opfianal) i Dissolving I TITO/194 for Pure TiO$O Concenfrafion i Hydrolysis Fi/frafian Wash Ca/cinafr'on Alkaline Ear/h Sulpbafe By Producf (Opfianal) LROCHE G. BOUSQUE T HARTMUT W RICHTER BENJAMIN WILSON ALLAN BYM/g 2 ATTORNEY.

I N VENTORS Patented Aug. 10, 1937 can Zirconium Corporation,

PRODUCTION OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE llltochc G. Bonsquet, Baltimore, Md., Hartmut. W. Richter, Railway. N. 1., and Beniamin Wilson Allan. Baltimore, MIL, assignors to Ameri- St. Helena,

Mil. a corporation of Maryland Application February 11, 1935, Serial No. 6,098

11 Claims. (Cl. 23-202) This invention deals with a process for the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment from titaniunfbearing ores.. In particular the invention relates toa method for the separation of titanium from iron and other impurities; present in titanium ore and introduced in the course of processing, by the precipitation of the titanium as orthotitanic acid by means of alkali or alkaline earth compounds. By this process a purified titanium sulphate solution may be produced. which, upon boiling for from three to nine hours, will yield most of its titanium content as a white,

pound, without the addition of accelerating ag ts. .Under certain conditions the washed hydrolysis product can be calcined to neutrality without the use of conditioning-agents. Besides yielding titanium dioxide suitable as a pigment, a valuable by-product of an alkaline earth sulphate may be obtained. Another feature of this process is that the sulphuric acid in the mother liquor from the hydrolysis step can be recovered eco nomically for re-use in the process.

, At the present time titanium dioxide is produced for commerce principally by two methods. In both cases ilmenite, the titanium bearing ore, is digested with sulphuric acid. The resulting mass, c"ontaining mostly titanium and iron sulphates, ,is dissolved'in water, weak acid, or reclaimed titanium liquor. Duringthe dissolution of the titanium bearing mass, scrap iron is introduced into the liquor for the purpose of reducing all of the iron present to the ferrous state and also some of the titanium to titanous sulphate. The reduced liquor containing all of the undigested ore and other insoluble matter, is next are fundamentally alike, except for such matters as preferred acid concentration, ratio of acid to ore, ore fineness, and the type of digestor used. From this point on, however, the two processes difler materially. In one, concentrated titanium sulphate solution is used, in which there is less sulphuric acid than required to form normal titanium sulphate and from which considerable of the ferrous sulphate has been removed by crystallization. Such concentrated titanium solutions, termed basic because of the acid deficiency, require seeding either byspecial treatment of the solution, or by the addition of a seeding material, for the economical production of meta titanic acid by. boiling. The hydrolysis product is washed free of the mother liquor and after treating with a conditioning agent, is calcined.

In the second process in use, a composite pigment of calcium sulphate and meta titanic acid is prepared from a normal titanium sulphate solution. In this solution, by precipitation of the titanium in the presence of calcium sulphate,

THSOO-z. The solution is much lower in titanium but somewhat higher in iron than the solution previously described. After hydrolysis, the precipitated titanium is washed free of sulthere is acid in excess over thatnecessary to form v phates of iron and calcium, and the precipitate iscalcined after treating with a conditioning agent to yield a neutral pigment.

In the case .of neither of the above processes can the acid in the mother liquor from the hydrolysis step be recovered without incurring considerable practical difficulties, as indicated by the fact that it has been the practice to waste these acid liquors. Inasmuch as the cost of the sulphuric acid needed for 'the manufacture of titanium dioxide represents about one-half of the entire raw material cost, a process which facilitates its economical recovery is of commercial value.

The accompanying drawing trative of the process claimed.

In the process that forms the subject of this invention, ilmenite is digested in sulphuric acid; the concentration of acid may be varied from 50- 104.5% and the acid to ore ratio from 1.4 to 2.5 parts by weight. The digested mass is dissolved in water, or titanium bearing wash liquor recovered from subsequent steps in the process.

Scrap iron is added in order to reduce all the iron present to the ferrous state. The resulting liquor is freed from solid matter by any of the well-known methods, but preferably by filtration after the addition of diatomaceous earth to the hot liquor. To the clarified titanium, solution, which may vary between 50-250 grams per liter of T102, a solution or slurry of operative alkali or alkaline earth compound (preferably an alka-'.

' line earth hydroxide or carbonate) is added until almost all, or all of the active sulphuric acid is neutralized. In the parlance of the art all the orthotitanic acid, while the iron and other metals remain in solution. The use of a deficiency of alkaline compound is essential if substantially complete iron separation is desirable, although fairly good results can be obtained with complete is a new sheet illus-' neutralization of the active acid if the washing of the orthotitanic acid cake is very complete.

tain insoluble sulphates of the alkaline earths, is

titanium and acid concentrations.

then dissolved in sulphuric acid, or in a mixture of titanium bearing acid wash liquor and enough additional sulphuric acid. In the liquor used for dissolving, it is advantageous to have titanium sulphate present. Any insoluble residue is removed by filtration, the filter cake being washed free of titanium sulphate by the 'use of acidulated water. This wash liquor can be added directly to the purified titanium solution, or can be utilized with additional acid and with or without the addition of titanous sulphate, to dissolve more orthotitanic acid, in a subsequent batch. The washed. precipitate of alkaline earth sulphate. when obtained, forms a valuable by-product'. It can be used'before or after calcination.

The dilute titanium sulphate solution containing between 20-150 grams per liter T102 may be now concentrated by evaporation under vacuum.

During this concentration there may or may not be present titanoussulphate. Any precipitate appearing during the evaporation is preferably removed. The resulting concentrated and purified titanium solution is now ready for hydrolysis, which operation is'carried out by boiling for from three to nine hours, the time depending upon the The hydrolized product is filtered, washed free of mother liquor, and calcined with or without the addition of conditioning agents, between 700-1,000 C. The mother. liquor is, then evaporated to the desired acid concentration, cooled and freed from the crystalline mass of titanium and iron salts in any convenient manner. The acid obtained is used for digesting more ilmenite to produce-titanium sulphate solution for use in. the process. It is to be understood that there are many modifications of this process, some of which will be represented in the examples given. For instance, it has been found advantageous to carry out theneutralization of the active acid in two steps, when alkaline earth compound forming an insoluble sulphate is used, the reason for this being that it is desirable to obtain the maximum titanium concentration in the purified solution in order to minimize the subsequent evaporation costs. This end is served when there is a minimum of foreign matter in the orthotitanic acid cake, and is accomplished by adding only enough base such as Ca(OH)2, CaCOa, etc. in the form of a slurryAo the titanium sulphate solution to neutralize the major part of the active sulphuric acid without precipitating any titanium. It has been found that the neutralization can be carried out to take care of all or almost all of the free acid, or, still further, to take care of 20 to 50% of the acid combined with the titanium in the compound TiOSOi without precipitating the latter, the free acid referred to being that part of the active acid over and above that needed to form TiOSOl. Such solutions as are thereby produced arevery basic, and metastable, requiring less than the theoretical amount of precipitant. This has the advantage of minimizing the amount of both precipitant used and of foreign matter" I vefsa, or by mixing the two at such a rate as to maintain a constant pH. I

It has also been found that a more concentrated purified titanium sulphate solution can be obtained when the orthotitanic acid cake is partially dehyd ated. dehydration should be aosamo carried out at low temperatures in order to avoid decreasing the solubility of the titanium compounds and also preferably in the absence of oxidizing conditions.

Although this process in its entirety is believed to be new, it makes use of ideas that are known to be old, noclaim being made to those ideas as such. Thus, the use of alkali or alkaline earth bases, to precipitate titanium as orthotitanic acid, is old (see Rossi 8: Barton, U. S. Patent #l,196,029, Barton, U. S. Patent #1334260, Leuchs, U. S.

Patent #1,853,626, Monk, U. S. Patent #1,755,512,

Neutralization of the active acid in one step. To 780 cc. of solution 1A, 108 grams CaiOH): slurried in 10 parts of H20 were added in the cold, the mixture agitated until. all of the lumps were broken up and the pulp filtered. The filter cake was washed, repulped in water and filtered and again washed with water. The washed cake was then dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid .and the insoluble residue removed by filtration. Analysis 10 represents the concentrated solution which was used for hydrolysis.

Anal ysis: (concentrationsin grams per liter).

1O concen- ]A, or! 1B, purified solu on solution tmtednsolu T10, 04.4 61 .0 254 F 50.0 3.4 14.2 n 31.1 20.1 as. 7 Total ne 321 145. 7 005 Free HO4 said not combinod with or Ti so Ti0804) 01 35 145.9 Active H.804 (mo acid plus d in T1050 170. s 109. e 456. r. A 52.8 V we 40.

I Free acid X 100 Ti -oquivalent acid (based on Ti0 s60 Example 2 To 2000 cc. of solution 2A, 520 grams NaOH dissolved in 6000 was added in the cold.

The precipitate was filtered and washed with H2O. After repulping and filtering twice,'73.9%

moved. The following obtained:

Analysis 2C concen- 2A original 2B,puriiied sdlution solution ag 123.4 92.3 196.1 90.7 13.6 27.0 471.9 283.8 568.7 108 1%.!) M3 312.9 $9.9 521.3 t 66.6 112, 118 Bed. needs T10: (present Tb 0:) 7'

Example 3 Neutralization of the active acid in two ste First step: To 5 liters of solution 3A,,1500

" of the total iron originally present had been reanalysis shows'the results grams precipitated chalk slurried in 10 liters H2O were added in the cold, the mixture filtered and washed with 5 liters 1% H2804. At the end the cold." The precipitate was-filtered and repulped. In all, the cake was repulped three times. The iron removal is shown in the followof the washing period the filtrate contained .08 ing table. 6 gram per liter TlOz. The composition of the li or is ven in anal 11 P tF' plus the wash on 51 y operation 1/! t e in M l/sis l t? in n o .e mu- :3 2 10 or M ,intereiid i inliio:ndmtFIII IIII lloa z' a'flut on 33 3rd Iepulping in Hgi) and illtr .474 l. Total" .97.

44.2 17.3 The final orthotitanic acid cake was less byjig drated than when only a small amount of titan- 444.4 05.1 ous sulphate was present; namely 63% H O instead of 80-83%, and the iron removal was r It will be noted that there is insufllcient acid to take care 01' all of the titanium as T1080; and the Fe as F8804.

Second step: To filtrate 3X, heated to 60 C., .540 grams CaCOs slurried in 3 liters of H20 were added with stirring. 'The mixed precipitate was filtered oil. The filtrate had the. following analysis.

T! None so 12.4 g/l 3o mam 21.6 g/l PreeHaBO; None The cake was washed on the filter with H and then added to 900 cc. oi concentrated sulphurlc acid. Considerable heat 'was liberated. 'The mixture was agitated and allowed to cool to room temperature and filtered. The filter cake was repulped in 1% sulphuric acid and filtered, yielding a clear solution containing 24 grams per liter I102.

Analysis 30, cone. solution 33, purifled solu used or hydrolysis tion si hs wcnuin 4B inter- 4A, original medmte solution 801mm I m 0,, at 126 31.1 Reduced Ti g 51. 2 11.7

1. so v, 1. 35L 5. 193L 'ro 5,193 liters or solution 43, 192 grams 1s Ca(OH): slurried in 600 cc. 11:0 were added in improved.

The orthotitanic acid was dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid, the CaSO4 precipitate removed by filtration. The filtrate analyzed as follows: i

Purified solution Total T102 103.7 Reduced T102-.. None Fe 1.06 Total H1804 279.5 Free H2804 150.6 Active H2804 277.6 Percent 11A 118 Sp. 81 1.26

" Example 5 Instead of adding the lime slurry to the partially neutralized solution, the reverse procedure was used with an improved iron removal and rate of filtration.

To 20 liters oi solution 511.3440 grams Ca(OH)a repulped in 10 parts of H20 were added in the cold. The Cit-S04 was filtered oil andthe cake washed with 1% .acid. The composition of the trate plus the wash liquor is shown in analysis Analysis 5A, original m solution solution Total Tios, 5/1 111. 4 40.4 Reduced Ti 1, g/l .89 Trace Fe i 81. 2 29. 9 Total K1804" 497. I .106. 3 rec H1804 21K 8 3. 4 Active H180 355 62. 8 Percent F. A-" 1w. 7 6.

To 868 grams Ca(Ol-I)a slurried in 12 liters H20, 20 liters of solution 53 were added in the cold. The mixture was agitated. and filtered. The orthotitanic acid cake was repulped and filtered four times with thetollowing iron re-' moval.

Percent Fe Operation [/1 Fe 1st. filtration .4--- 16 49. 5

Ecample 6 By following the same procedure as used in Extil ainple 5 but using 10% deficiency of alkali, a better removal results.

- A partially neutralized titanium solution with the following analysis was used:

Total Ti 53.7 g/l Fe 39.4 Total rnsol 139.8 Free sulphuric acid 5.6 Active sulphuric acid l'0.6 Per cent F. A 8.3,

Seven liters of this solution were run into 349 grams Ca(OH)a, stirred in 3 /2 liters of water,

this being 90% of the amount of Ca(OH)z the oretically necessary to neutralize all of the active acid. The orthotitanic acid cake was filtered and washed and repulped twice. The results are shown in the following table:

Percent Fe Operation gll Fe removed Filtration 25.1 72.6 lst repulping and fllt 8. 7 13.9 2nd repulping and flit... 3. 7 7. 5

Total.... 94.0 v

I Example 7 Treatment of partially neutralized titanium solution with H2S or other soluble sulphides to re.- move heavy metals, before precipitation of the orthotitanic acid.

To three liters of solution of 7A, we added 387 grams C8.(OH)2 in 7 liters H10. After agitation we filtered off the precipitate. We'then passed in ms into the clarified filtrate and, filtered off a yellow precipitate. shown in analysis 7B.

4.0 Analysis 7 B inter- 7 A, original m 5 solution 45 Total Tic, g/l 129.7 40.9 Reduced TiOz, g/l Trace Trace F 104.4 33. Total H2804- 509. 4 121 Free H2804" 168. 4 -12 Active H2504 326. 4 62. 1 50 Percent F. A." 106.5 24

To 4 liters of solution 73 were added 202.8 grams NaOH dissolved in 3 liters H20. The solution was agitated, filtered,- and then washed by 5 repulping and filtering three times. The orthotitanic acid was then dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid by adding the cake slowly to the acid and allowing the mixture to cool after the initial addition of cake. The solution obtained had the following composition (70).

Analysis Cone. solu- Total Tiol 0 Reduced Ti 0 Fe e .c

Pereent F. A 103 8 The concentrated solution, on boiling for x hours, gave an 87% recovery of 110:.

The solution obtained is.

The hydrogen sulphide of this example may be replaced by sodium sulphide, or other sulphides soluble in the solution. If the recovery of the sulphate is unfeasible economically, the sulphide treatment may be made before separation of the sulphate, enabling both precipitates to be filtered ofl at one time.

- Example 8 I Removal of Mn by the use of ammonia when precipitating the titanium.

To 1 liter of solution 8A, 162 grams of 69.00: slurried in 620 ccs. H2O were added in the cold. 100 grams NHlCl were added, followed by the addition of 55 cc. of 28.3% NI-Iz. The precipitate was filtered and washed with 1 liter H20 followed by repulping in 2 liters of H20; filtration and washing of the cake with 1 liter of I120. The repulping operation was repeated.

The original filtrate showed the presence of After dissolving the orthotitanic acid cake in concentrated sulphuric acid and removing the precipitate by filtration, followed by washing, purified titanium solution of a. composition shown in analysis 8C was obtained.

Analysis 8A, original 80, purified solution solution Total TiOn. E/ 94. 4 5L 2 Reduced TiOz. gl! 3 None Fe 59 1. 6 y

31. 1 Undetermined as 327. 0 142. 8 61' 176.8 1. l2 T111008 only Example 9 Neutralization in two steps and the use of ammonia to remove Mn.

the active acid was added. This required 216 grams CaCOa slurried in 2 liters H20. After'agltating the mixture for 15 minutes, '72 cc. 28.5% NH: was added. The precipitate was filtered and washed, followed by two repulpings and filtra 'tions. All washing was done with extremely weak acid (.025-.05% H2804). The washed titanium cake was dissolved in concentrated acid, the precipitate of CaSOr removed by filtration and washed with 1% sulphuric acid. The wash liquor was kept separate from the filtrate. The composition of 'the latter is shown in analysis 90.

Ana-lusts 9A. original 90, urllied solution so tion 7. 2 None 50.6 .6 244.4 1 WA 103. 2 155. 5

It should be noted that not only is most of the manganese removed but the iron removal is especially good. The use of ammonium to complete the precipitation of the titanium makes it possible to make a separation of titanium from all of-those metals forming complex ions with ammonia in,

addition to removing iron and manganese.

sample. 10

It has been found that a large part 01' the acid combined with the titanium in the compound TiOSO4 can be neutralized without causing precipitation oi the titanium. Advantage can be taken 01' this fact to use a soluble alkali with which to precipitate the titanium in the final step, thereby obtaining a hydrate free of foreign matter. To 3' liters oi solution 10A, 835.5 grams Ca(0H)2"slurried in 8 liters 320 were added in the cold. The mixture was thoroughly agitated and then filtered. The filter cake was washed with 1% sulphuric acid. The combined filtrate and wash liquor had the composition shown by analysis 103. SolutionilOC was produced by dissolving the orthotitanic acid in sulphuric acid produced bythe addition or the required amountoi NaOH to solution 103.

Analysis 103 Ink- 100 puri- 1f te ned' soluml on solution tion in 7 20. 7 91. 5 Trees Trace None 10. 4 M. 9 4. 7 m. 4 00. 5 198. 4 108. 4 l9. 7 7B. 1 m 4 1B. 8 '1 1m. 5 "5. 2 W. 5

Example 11 Recoveries obtained when neutralization is car- 'ried out'in two steps, with the use of titanous sulin the cold. After-the reaction was complete the 09,804 was removed by filtration and the filter cake washed with 1.3 liters 01' 1% sulphuric acid. A total volumeoi I liters of solution 113 was obtained.

#110 340 grams Ca(OI-I)2 190% of theoretical min cunt required) slurried 1113.5 liters H20, 7

liters 01' solution B were added with stirring.

After the reaction was complete, the orthotitanic acid was filtered and washed with 1 liter H2O. 6.75liters oi filtrate containing 24.7 grams per liter Fe (69.5% Fe removal) were obtained before washing. Washing yielded 1.3 liters of wash liquor containing 25.1 grams per liter of Fe with a removal oi'Fe of 12.1%. This washed filter cake was repulped in 3.5 liters H2O filtered and washed. The total volume of filtrate was 4.4 liters containing 8.79 grams per liter Fe, corresponding to 13.9% 01' the original Fe present. A second repulping and washingrein'oved 7.5% more iron, giving a total Fe removal 01' 95%. The wet cake weighed 4190 grams, corresponding to 9% T102. It-was dissolved in 417 cc. 0! 66 B. sulphuric acid diduted with 400 cc. H20, and in which 100 grams oi! titanous sulphate crystals were dissolved. These crystals had the following analysis:

Percent The (29.804 was removed by filtration and the v filter cake washed, the wash liquor being added to the filtrate. -Aiter concentration and filtration,

the solution had the following composition.

11D, con- 11E, soluoontratsd tion used ior solution hydrolysis The concentrated solution, on boiling for four hours, gave a 94% recovery of TlOz The pigment obtained from solution 11E was extremely white and possessed the desired D18- Amuvm ment properties such as high covering power,

brightness. etc.

11A, Exam 12 1 1.01m. gg- I Titanium and acid concentration for hydrolysis. Tom T10. m4 m7 A wide range or acid and titanium concentrateduoed Ti 4.1/1.

time may be used in the final solution, to give a 41 13918 good recovery of titanium by simple boiling. The ggi? jg?" 73:: following table shows various examples of regmfl: RA 05a 3.; 5 coveries obtained from solutions prepared acmomy cording to our invention.

No. s1 as 00.4 00 104 a Total 'liO 150.0 mm 243.5 324.4 Reduced i til 1.... 4.03 414 5.2:; 41 21; Fe 15.4 10.5 30.5 31.0 248 400.5 401.5 025.0 055 502.0 189.2 225.2 263 204 207.4 1100.2 441.2 501.0 000 540.4 005 10i. 5 s'm 51.5 00.5 51'6" 71' so 0 94.8

inside. lnaolm. mam. mam-s. 1118.5l1rs In the examples,the calcium compounds may,

of course, be replaced by barium and strontium, sodium compounds by. potassium,-or other alkaline bases giving soluble sulphates.

While wehave shown various ways of practicing our invention, it consists essentially in the v precipitation of orthotitanic acid by an alkali,

followed by dissolution concentration and hydrolysis, practicing the method in such-a manner that the orthotitanic acid precipitate is very low in iron and other impurities. In particular, the

removal of iron is facilitated by two stage precipitation,usingalkalineearthbase'in the first stage. followed by removal of the sulphate formed, which results in a less bulky precipitateirom which to wash their-on. The use of not quite the theoretical quantity of alkali likewise helps in the iron removal, as in this manner a slight acidity is maintained which is suflicient to prevent appreciable precipitation of the iron.

'lhe use oi ammonia to help in the removalfoi our invention.

The use of the two stage process likewise permits the removal or other impurities, by the use of hydrogen sulphide or ammonia,-the' additionmade to the intermediate solution. It

mud b pointed out that the proper acidity tor.

the hydrogen sulphide may be obtained in this way, and, or course, economy in'the use of ammoniaiseiiected.

6 The use or titanous sulphate, in crystalline form, to reduce whatever iron is presentln the purified solution, permits or hydrolysis without the introduction ofioreignmaterials into the batch. 'lhetitanoussulphatemayberepiaced by any soluble titanous compound whose acid radical will not interfere with the hydrolysis; e. g. titanous fluoride.

Our process has two principal advantages be- 5 sides economythe preparation of hydrolysis solutions which need no internal or external seeding and of solutions low in impurities which permit thereuse oi the mother liquor. In addition.

when a two stage precipitation is made, anda soluble alkali is used in the second stage,

- hydrolysis product calcines to neutrality without added conditioning agent, probably due to the presence of occluded alkali salt.

We claim: 7 s5 1. 'ihestepsinihemethodoimakingtitanhim oxide which comprise treating a titanium mlphate solution with operative alkaline earth metal compound forming a relatively insoluble sulphate, insuchquantityasnot tocam eprecipitationot in titanium, the insoluble sulphates from the solution, treating the solution with just enough of an operative compound of a member selected from the group consisting of the alkali and alkaline earth metals to precipitate only the titanium present, separating the precipitate,

the iron, and to remove soluble compounds of. manganese, is also considered by us as part of 2,osc,1so

washing out impurities, and fled precipitate.

2. The method of claim 1. in which all or part oi the titanium precipitating agent is ammonia.

3. Themethod of claim 1, in which the tits.- nium hydrate precipitate is redissolved in acid in the presence of an added soluble compound of trivalent titanium. 4. The steps in the method of making titanium oxide which comprise treating a titanium sulphate solution with operative alkaline earth metal compound forming a relatively insoluble sulphate, in such quantity as to reduce the factor of acidity to less than zero, without precipitating titanium, separating the insoluble sulphates from the solution, treating the solution with just enough of an operative com-pound of a. member selected from the group consisting of the alkali and alkaline earth metals to precipitate only the titanium presenhseparating the precipitate, washing out impurities. and dissolving h purifled recipia 5. The method of claim 4 in which all or part oi the titanium precipitating agent is ammonia.

6. The method of claim 4, in which the titanium hydrate precipitate is redissolved in acid in the presence of an added soluble compound of trivalent titanium.

'l. The steps in the method of making titanium oxide, which comprise treating titanium sulphate solution with operative alkaline earth metal compound forming relatively insoluble sulphate, in such quantity as not to cause precipitation or titanium. separating the insoluble sulphate from the solution, treating .the solution with a soluble sulphide, separating' the precipitate from the solution, treating the solution with just enough ot an operative compound of a member of the alkali or alkaline earth-group to precipitate only the titanium present, separating the pricipitate,

washing out impurities and dissolving the purified precipitate. .8, Themethodor claim'Linwhichallorpart oi the titanium precipitating agent is ammonia. 9.'1'heme thodoiciaim7,inwhichthetitanium hydrate precipitate is redissolved in acid in the praen'oe of an added soluble compound of trivalent titanium.

' 10. The method of making titanium dioxide which comprises dissolving a titaniferous material in sulphuric acid to form an'impure titanium sulphate solution, treating the solution with oper-, ative alkaline earth metal compound forming a relatively insoluble sulphate, in such quantity as not to cause precipitation oi titanium, separating the insoluble sulphates from' the solution, treating the solution with just enough oi! an operative compound of a member of the alkali or alkalineearth group to precipitate only the titanium present, separating the precipitate, washlog out impurities, dissolving the purified precipitate, adjusting the concentration of the solution, hydrolysing, separating the precipitate, washing and calcining to titanium dioxide.

11. The methodot making titanium dioxide which comprises dissolving a titaniterous material in sulphuric acid to fo'rm'an impure titanium sulphate solution. treating the solution with operativcaikalineearthmctalcompoimdforminga relatively insoluble sulphate. in such quantity as to redncetheiactoroiaciditytoless than zero without precipitating titanium, separating the insoluble sulphates from the solution, treating the solution with just enough of an-operative 75 dissolving the puricompound of a member selected from the group rating the precipitate, washing and calcining to consisting of the alkali and alkaline earth metals titanium dioxide. to precipitate only the titanium present, separating the precipitate, washing out impurities, dis- LROCHE G. BOUSQUET. 5 solving the purified precipitate, adjusting the HARTMUT W. RICHTER, 5

concentration of the solution, hydrolizing, separ BENJAMIN WILSON ALLAN.

Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,089,180. August 10, 1937.

I LROCHE G. BOUSQUET ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring'correction as follows: Page 4, second column, line 69, in the table, for the figure 0.16 read .016 and that the said Letters Patent, should be read with this correction therein that the some may conform to the record ofthe case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of September, A. D. 1937.

HENRY VAN ARSDALE,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

compound of a member selected from the group rating the precipitate, washing and calcining to consisting of the alkali and alkaline earth metals titanium dioxide. to precipitate only the titanium present, separating the precipitate, washing out impurities, dis- LROCHE G. BOUSQUET. 5 solving the purified precipitate, adjusting the HARTMUT W. RICHTER, 5

concentration of the solution, hydrolizing, separ BENJAMIN WILSON ALLAN.

Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,089,180. August 10, 1937.

I LROCHE G. BOUSQUET ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring'correction as follows: Page 4, second column, line 69, in the table, for the figure 0.16 read .016 and that the said Letters Patent, should be read with this correction therein that the some may conform to the record ofthe case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of September, A. D. 1937.

HENRY VAN ARSDALE,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

